Draft Profile: Jonathan Isaac

Lottery teams will have an intriguing prospect to consider in the upcoming draft; Johnathan Isaac.

Isaac may be the most versatile defender in this class, he’s a 6-foot-10 power forward with a 7’1 wingspan and a thin frame that can guard positions 1 through 4. He has the feet of a two-guard and is quick enough to stay on a point guard and make him work or chase shooters around screens, he can also keep iso scorers in front and rotate to the rim with incredible speed.

Isaac averaged 12 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks on 50-percent shooting from the floor during his freshman year at Florida State. The team that drafts him will get an NBA-ready defender who will pose a matchup nightmare right from the start.

Concerns have arisen about his offense though, and not without reason. If whoever drafts him expects a guy that can score the ball constantly and consistently, they’ll be sorely dissapointed. Although he can pop an open three and pull up from mid range at a level high enough to keep the defense wary of him, he’s just not ready to excel as an NBA scorer. He shot an abyssmal 16.7-percent from deep in December and 21.7-percent in March.

With that said, his offense is not a lost cause, as he showed signs of a consistent mid-ranger during his sole season at FSU. Hitting the weight room will also be in his daily agenda, as he was weighed at only 210 pounds at the Draft Combine. One can never expect a teenager to come into the NBA fully-formed, and Isaac’s upside will allow him to work on his flaws and become a solid starter in the league, at the very least.

What would be the best landing spot for the lanky 19-year-old? Most mocks put him at no. 7 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they couldn’t be more right. Minnesota’s young core is set to develop into a force in the West a few years from now, and in this draft, Isaac might be the player that fits the best into what the Wolves are trying to build.

For starters, power forward is their weakest position, and their defense could certainly improve, as it ranked 24th this past season. Jonathan Isaac helps fix both of those problems as the best four and arguably the best defender in this class. His offensive liabilities will be given more time to improve in Minnesota due to the fact that Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins carry the majority of the scoring load. Ultimately, Isaac’s presence in the already promising T-Wolves will help propel their hopes of ending the second-longest playoff drought in league history and the possibility of a superteam built entirely through the draft.